Tractor wheel



Feb. 27, 1940. M.VE. R. BERNARDON TRACTOR WHEEL 2 Shets-Sheep 1 Filed Nov. 2, 1957 Feb 27, 1940. M. E. R. BERNARDON TRACTOR WHEEL Filed NOV. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 27, 1 940 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE-i TRACTOR WHEEL Marcellin Eugene Rene Bernardon, Paris, France, assignor-to Societe Anonyme des Pneumatiques Dunlop, Paris, France, a company of France Application November 2, 1937, Serial-No. 172,479

- In France November 7, 1936 4 Claims, (c1. 301-50.)-

The present invention relates to vehicle wheels and more especially, although not exclusively, to

to,including a rubber tire, for instance a pneumatic tirepwhich possesses a better adhesion to the ground, said ground consisting either of a road or of a broken surface, without requiring a change of wheel.

According to an essential feature of the present invention, this wheel is fitted with an auxiliary annular part or sup-port carrying a plurality of removable blades or the like which can be mounted and fixed radially in either of two different positions, to wit: a working position in which they project outwardly with respect: to the tire, and a position of rest in which they are retracted with respect to said tire.

housing or groove provided in the annular part (of the wheel) and having sides which converge toward the central part of the'wheel with the that the bladesare secured by a wedgingeffect automatically obtained as a consequence of the effort applied to the blade as it is being driven into the ground. 4

35 'Another' feature of the present invention 'consists' in the provision of means for opposing the lateral stresses that may be undergone by the blades when in action.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, each blade includesltwo I portions constituting two wedges'opposed to each housin f0r placing it in the position of rest or in the position of work, respectively.

Furthermore, according to another feature of.

the invention, each blade is provided with a median groove extending in the radialdirection,

A feature of the invention lies in the fact that. each blade is wedge-shaped and engages in a same inclination as the wedge, in such manner said groove or slot being adapted to cooperate with a fixation bolt which engages therethrough and being provided with widened parts at both of its ends for the passage of said fixation bolt, which needs not be fully unscrewed for per- .mitting the removal of theblade or its insertion in position.

Other features of the present invention will result from the following detailed description of some specific embodimentsthereof.

Preferred embodiments of the present 'inven tion will be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the auxiliary annular element which supports the blades and which is supposed to be fitted on a wheel carrying a pneumatic tire; I

Fig. 2 is a corresponding sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the blades to be fitted in said annular element; a

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing, in its upper part, the fitting of the blades in retracted position, which corresponds to the position of rest, and in its lower part, the fitting of the blades in the projecting position, which corresponds to the working position; v .Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic sectional view on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Y e i Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view analogous to Fig. 6, but corresponding to another embodiment of the invention.

The wheel I which is shown in the drawings (Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6) includes a tire 2, either pneumatic or of another kind, fitted on a rim made of two parts: to wit, a half-rim 3 rigid or 49 integral with the web I and a half-rim d securedthereto in any suitable manner. Theelements for increasing the adhesion of the wheel are carried by this half-rim 4, through the intermediate of the annular support 5. 4:)

In the embodiment shown by the drawings, support 5 is constitutedby a circular .part fixed to half-rim 4 by means of hooks 6 which bear upon the back face of a flange 4a of rim 4 and extending through holes provided in lugs 5a of annular part 5. Nuts I screwed on these hooks 6 keep annular part 5 in position. The correct axial positioning of said annular part 5 is'ensured by means of a cylindrical bearing 4b.

Annular member 5. is provided with groovesfll i that is to say with their points directed toward Furthermore, small plates I 3 are fixed in any suitable manner to the bosses l4 which separate housings 8 from one another and in the part thereof that is nearer to the center of the wheel. These small plates I3, which project slightly from the sides 9 of housings 8, areintendedto' reduce the stress supported by studs ll and also to prevent the lateral pivoting of the blades. in,

the eventuality of nuts I2 being loosened.

In the housings 8 of annular member 5 which has just been described, I introduce blades l0,

Whichare shown on an enlarged scale in Figs; 3 and 4. These blades H] are generally utilized,

in the state in which they are when they have just been cast. As shown by the drawings,-they'; are of U-shaped section, the wings Illa beingsymmetrical with respect to the plane of section of Fig. 4. They have the shape of two wedges opposed along their base ab. The sides ac and cd of these wedges make with thier base ab angles or equal to each other and equal to the j inclination of the sides 9 of the housings 8 of annular member 5. It follows that these blades can have either of their ends engaged in housings 8, either in the position of rest, the point of the blade being turned toward the center, as shown by the upper part of Figs. 5' and 6, or in the position of work, the point being turned outwardly, as shown by the lower part of the same figures.

If angle at is suitably chosen, it will be readily understood that it is possible automatically to obtain a strong wedging of the blade in its housing as a consequence of the efiort applied to the such manner as to permit of removing the blade or inserting it in position without involving the necessity. of removing the nut, since the latter can pass freely through said parts 45a and I5b. When the blade is fixed in either of its positions in groove 8, this nut 12 bears upon the edges l6 Furthermore, the end lb or point lower part of Fig. 6.

As the blade made as above explained is symmetrical with respect to plane IV--IV (Fig. 3) it can be used at will either with a right hand side wheel or with a left hand side wheel. As its sides are symmetrically inclined with respect to the base a.b, it can be inserted-in a housing 8 either in the position of rest or in the position of Work, 1 If the vehicle is to run on solid ground, the

blades are disposed in their positions of rest,

the center, by engaging nut l2 into aperture 15b,

and wedging the faces corresponding to cachetween the sides 9 of housings 8. Then the blades are secured in this position by tightening nut l2.

On the contrary, if the vehicle is to move on soft orbroken groundnuts I? are loosened, each blade is caused to slide radially toward the out side, and then it is removed and insertedinto the corresponding housing after having turned the-points outwardly. In this position, the ends such as ad of the wedge are engaged between the sides 9 of housings 8. The fixation of each 1 of the bladesin position is-obtained by means of a nut suchas [2. As above-set forth, the blades are held in position by wedging when the vehicle is moving. Even if nut l2 gets loose, for v any reasonfthe blade cannot turn laterally (that I is to say about an axis parallel to ab) because "the combined action of plates l3 'and nuts I2v opposeslateral stresses when in service.

Of course, the arrangement above described sible one according to the present invention. In particular, instead of having an annular member 5 which is secured to the half-rim 4, I may,

Furthermore, it will be understood that they 25 invention includes allblades having a double wedge, independently of the annular part that is to support them, these blades being eventually mounted directly upon the wheel in any suit: able manner. I

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and efiicient embodiments of the present invention, it should be well understood that Ido not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as cornprehended within the scope of the appended claims." Y

What'I claim is:

1. In connection with a vehicle having a hub and a tire the combination'of an annular part coaxially carried by said wheel and of a diameter intermediate between the outer diameters of said hub andsaid tire respectively, said annular member being provided with a plurality of housings extending therethrough; each of said housings having its two axially extending sides converg-.

ent toward the center of the wheel; a plurality of blades adapted to be removably engaged in said housings respectively so as to be all located in. a common plane at right angles to the axis of said wheel, said blades being in the form of a double wedge, pointed at one end and trun-' cated at the other, so that when engaged in said housings with their pointed ends outwardly they --mere1y by way of example, is not the only posproject from the'outer periphery of said rim and when engaged in the opposed direction, the truncated ends are retracted with respect to said periphery, the inclination of the edges of said blades that'engage in said housings being the same as that of the sides of said housing so that said b-ladeswedge in their respective housings,- the blades being provided with median slots parallel to the length thereof; bolts carried by said annular part extending throughsaid slots respectively, nuts screwed on said bolts respectively and applied against the edges of said slots, for fixing saidzblades in said housings; and small plates carried by said annular "part and extending at least partly on the lateral sideoi "said housings respectively.

2. An anti-skid attachment for a road vehicle wheel having a treadsurface, which com-1 prisesa groundgripping member substantially in the form of a truncated lozenge so as to have two couples of oppositely-converging sides,one couple of said sides'extending from thelozenge center to a considerably greater distance than the second couple to form a ground engaging tip portion; and a rigid ring of considerably less diameter than the wheel tread surface, including an encasing housing for the ground gripping member with oppositely positioned, bearing walls which converge toward the center of the ringby the same an'gleas the opposite lozenge side in each couple, so that the ground gripping member may be jammed in the housing in either of two opposite positions.

3. In a road vehicle wheel havinga tread surface, the combination of a ground gripping memher having a ground contacting tip portion and a heel portion; the heel portion including opposite sides which converge away from the tip-portion; and a support rigid with the wheel, Wholly positioned intermediate the tread surface and the center of the wheel and comprising a groove therein with opposite sides converging, by the apart relationship with respect to the releasable member, said second member being rigid with the support and extending over the groove to form-an abutment preventing axial movement of the heel portion of the ground gripping member. l

4. In a road vehicle wheel having a side annular support which has an outer diameter less than that of the tread surface of the wheel, the support being provided in its exposed face with a radial groove having outwardly flaring ping member having a heel portion with tapering edges to cooperate with, the flaring edges of the groove in the support, and a tip portion adapted to outwardly project with respect to the wheel tread surface, the exposed face of the gripping member being so stepped as to define a marginal exposed bead and a median portion with an aperture therein in; sunken position with respect to the marginal bead; axially positioned transfixing means including an inner portion which passes through said aperture and an enlarged outer portion which engages the median portion of the gripping member in sunken position with respect to the marginal bead, for

v retaining the gripping member on the support against axialmovement away from the wheel; and a small plate rigid with the support and positioned thereon to extend overthe groove in radially spaced apart relationship with respect to the transfixing means. MARCELLIN EUGENE RENE BERNARDQN.

10 opposite edges, the combination of a ground gri'p- 

